Pokemon: Scarlet and Violet have been in the hot seat since its release. Reviews have been flooding in talking about the numerous problems with the latest installment of the franchise. From the terrible frame rate to the body horror glitches, Scarlet and Violet have the lowest Metacritic User Score to date. However, the decline of Pokemon is nothing new. With every release, people are becoming more and more frustrated with GameFreak. The question is…will the franchise change or continue its rapid decline?
An Open World Pokemon Game
Before we talk about everything that is broken with the latest additions to Pokemon’s core series, let’s talk about the positive changes and innovations to the game. This game took a big leap toward creating your own personal journey by allowing you to progress the story the way you want.
While Pokemon Legends: Arceus was sticking its toes, Scarlet and Violet dove right in. The ability to choose how your story begins. While the games should have had a progressive leveling system to allow for unfettered exploration. In addition, the town and city environments are amazing. I could imagine living in Artazon or Casscarrafa. In addition, the attention to detail in character designs is excellent. The option of multiplayer is also fantastic, especially for an open-world adventure. However, rose-tinted glasses cannot save the rest of the game.
Rose-Tinted Glasses are Broken
Pokemon Sword and Shield were already showing the cracks in the franchise. GameFreak had to admit to lying about making new 3D character models to justify cutting over 400 pokemon from the game. Then when the games were released, there were graphical errors galore in Galar. In addition to removing gimmicks, they also made paid DLC that was version exclusive.
However, Scarlet and Violet’s reception provided that GameFreak did not learn the lesson. These two games are perfect examples of comprehensive technical failures. Poor artwork, terrible performance, and an inadequate draw distance are just part of the problem. Although Legends Arceus was the pinnacle of the visual experience, it was a thousand times better than this current game. So, the game took one step forward and a thousand steps back. Not even the most die-hard Pokemon can ignore these flaws. However, will the reception to this new game be the wake-up call for the franchise?
Will GameFreak Do Better?
There is plenty of flaws to the latest Pokemon game, more than I have time to write. The objectively terrible technical performance and immense glitches have caused some players to ask for refunds. With Scarlet and Violet also getting poor reviews, will this be a wake-up call for the franchise to change its current policies? As mentioned above, Pokemon is making active changes but managing to deliver a lackluster or broken product. Pokemon is the highest-grossing media franchise, it is time to start investing in their games (properly).
